Four-star CB Jaeden Gould to announce decision between USC, PSU on Sunday

Four-star cornerback Jaeden Gould (Bergen Catholic/Oradell, N.J.) is set to announce his college choice Sunday at 3 p.m. PT, live on his Instagram account.

Gould will choose between Penn State and USC.

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Penn State was long viewed as the favorite for Gould, but USC created major momentum coming off his Trojans official visit two weekends ago to make make this more interesting. USC associate head coach/cornerbacks coach Donte Williams is one of the top recruiters overall in the country, and is especially effective when getting the chance to make an impression in person, as he did last weekend.

USC has tried for a number of New Jersey prospects in recent years, missing out each time, after landing a commitment from five-star defensive end Mykel Williams earlier this week, the Trojans are hoping to continue building national recruiting momentum.

As of now, USC has two cornerbacks committed in the 2022 class in five-star Domani Jackson (Mater Dei HS) and four-star Fabian Ross (Bishop Gorman HS/Las Vegas, Nev.). The Trojans have room to sign five defensive backs, and after picking up a couple of transfer safeties it doesn't look like they'll end up signing more than one safety if any in this class, so there's room to add at the cornerback position.

USC lost one starting CB to the NFL this year in Olaijah Griffin and could lose another after the 2021 season in Chris Steele if things go well for him in the fall.

There are some veteran cornerbacks on the roster waiting for a larger opportunity, like juniors Dorian Hewett, Jayden Williams and Adonis Otey, but the youth movement could be underway soon enough at that spot. USC signed four-star cornerbacks Ceyair Wright, Prophet Brown and nickel Jaylin Smith in the 2021 class and are reloading again in this cycle.

Aside from Gould, the Trojans are also still working to flip five-star Michigan commit Will Johnson (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and have hosted four-star corners Earl Little Jr. (Plantation, Fla.) and Gentry Williams (Tulsa, Okla.) this month.

Check back this afternoon for reaction to Gould's decision.